What's Yours Is Mine
The she-cat gazed unflinchingly at the other cat's scarred face. "I don't know what you're talking about. There is no one else here but Lightning, Hen, Doe, and I." "Then you won't mind if I check for myself." She took a step forward, and Sow blocked her way. "This is our private quarters. You can't intrude upon us. Besides, this particular alley is dangerous. Glass everywhere. Getting cuts on paws is very nasty." Whitefeather tossed her head. "I don't fear glass. I am your leader, and you will let me through." Sow resisted. "As your humble subordinate," she growled through gritted teeth, "I must put your best interests first. And you don't want to intrude in our alley. Only those with practiced paws can make their way through without getting hurt." Whitefeather pushed past the she-cat and started down the alley. There wasn't any glass. Two she-cats and a tom lay sprawled on a beaten bed-pad some Twoleg had thrown out at the back of the alley. They raised their heads at her approach. The tom sprang forward. "Whitefeather, we were not expecting you." She looked at him cooly with her one blue eye until he gave an uncomfortable squirm. "Out of my way, Lightning." He didn't fight as she shoved by him. He turned to look helplessly at Sow, who stared back at him with wide, frightened eyes. As one, they rushed after Whitefeather. A cardboard box was tucked away in a corner. Two scraps of brown were curled in it, shivering and mewling softly. Whitefeather bent over them and gave them each a few sniffs. "Whitefeather," Sow's voice was pleading as she slid around to the she-cat's side. "Please, no. You can't take them." "I will do what I want," she snapped back. Sow recoiled, and Hen and Doe pressed reassuringly against her, gazing back at Whitefeather with sad, knowing eyes. "Please Whitefeather," Lightning joined his mate's begging, "I will do anything. Just leave our kittens alone. Please." Whitefeather sunk her teeth into the scruff of the larger kit and raised him from the box. He let out a squeak of protest, his small form curling automatically in her grip. His fur was still soft and fuzzy, which wasn't surprising. He was barely half a moon old. She set him down between her paws. "Did you really think you could hide them from me? Whitefeather sees all, knows all. I am the master of the Twolegplace. Nothing happens here without my knowledge." Sow pushed away from Hen and Doe, amber eyes blazing. "Leave my kits alone." The white she-cat pricked up her remaining ear. "Do you really think you can fight me?" she scoffed. She lowered her head to lick the kitten's fur. "He'd be a good helper, don't you think so? Perhaps I should pick his name myself. What's another word for minion? Toad? Toady, that's it. I'll call him Toadie." "I mean, it Whitefeather." There was a tremble in Sow's voice, but she spread apart her paws and arched her back. "Leave. Them. Alone." Appearing almost silently, the brown tabby tom made his way down the alley. Whitefeather nodded at him, and Sow and Lightning turned to glance nervously over their shoulders. "Janus," Whitefeather mewed, her voice sarcastically sweet, "this one is giving us trouble. Be a dear and hold her for me, would you?" Janus grunted and took a step towards Sow. A single step was enough to send her cowering on the mattress. Helpless. Defeated. "And you, Lightning." Whitefeather motioned to the brown tom. "Get your other son. You can help me carry him to his new home. Won't that be fun?" There was pure loathing in Lightning's blue eyes. He had no choice, and they both knew it. Whitefeather relished making other cats afraid of her. "As you wish," he growled. He bent over the cardboard box and gently lifted out his smaller kit. "And don't think of crossing me," Whitefeather added almost as an afterthought, nodding in Janus's direction. "I would simply hate to make Janus add scratches to your pretty little mate's face." Lightning, his mouth full of kit, didn't answer. Whitefeather left the alley, Lightning trailing behind with the second kit in his mouth. It squeaked in protest, but not for long as he carried it. Such a cruel thing, to be torn from one's kits. Besides Sow herself, they were the only ones he truly loved. Whitefeather paused to look back at him. She put Toadie on the ground only for a moment to answer Lightning's thought. "I am the leader of the Twolegplace, of the rogues. I know what goes on. I know every pawstep of my territory. Everything I see is my land. What I want is mine. What I can find is mine. And yet I share all my Twolegplace territory with the rest of you. What's mine is yours." Her one blue eye glinted cruelly as she bent down over the kit again. "And what's yours is mine." Category:Warriors Fanfiction Category:Short-Stories